Bruijn, de, Martinus Petrus Cornelis

Date of birth:: April 24th, 1928 (Ginniken/North Brabant, Netherlands)
Date of death:: January 1st, 1949 (Kediri/Java, Dutch Indies)
Buried on:: Dutch War Cemetery Kembang Kuning
Grave: BB203.
Nationality:: Dutch

Biography

Sld.1-2-15 RI

Martinus was born on 24 April 1928 in Ginneken and lived in Princenhage. He was a lift engineer by profession, but had to do his military service in the Royal Netherlands Army. Due to the outbreak of revolutionary violence during the Indonesian struggle for independence, he was sent to the Dutch East Indies to help restore peace and Dutch authority. Upon arrival in the East Indies, he was assigned to the 1st Company of the newly formed 2-15 Infantry Regiment Battalion. Martinus was probably transferred from the 9(5) Regiment Stoottroepen to complete his service. From September 1948, he was stationed around Pasoeroean, on the Javanese coast east of Surabaya.
When negotiations with the Republic broke down again in the course of 1948, army commander S.H. Spoor was given permission to launch the Second Police Action on 19 December 1948. This time, the aim was nothing less than the political and military elimination of the Republic and the arrest of the Soekarno government in Djokjakarta.
Martinus and his unit then advanced westwards from Malang towards Wlingi and Blitar to secure the area against the Indonesian revolutionaries. A night-time attack by the revolutionaries to drive the Dutch out of Blitar was successfully repelled.
On 31 December 1948, the Action is still in full swing, but Martinus's military service is practically over. However, on that day, he is seriously injured by phosphorus burns after an ammunition explosion in Kediri, forty kilometres from Blitar. Martinus is rushed to hospital, but the medical assistance provided is to no avail. The next day, 1 January 1949, Martinus succumbs to his injuries. He was 20 years old and finds his final resting place at the Dutch military cemetery Kembang Kuning in Surabaya.

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